She smirked down at it, then shifted herself back into my side. The kitten pawed at her collarbone, then tucked its head under her chin.
My heart did a little pitter-patter.
"See?" she murmured. "Just needed somewhere warm to rest."
"Yeah, well. So did you."
The words slipped outta my big dumb mouth before I could filter them.
Her eyes flicked to mine.
Not teasin' now.
Just… searching.
The kitten squirmed in her arms and let out a tiny offended squeak like we'd insulted its entire bloodline.
"Well," she muttered, adjustin' her grip as it moved, "someone's excited this morning."
"Yeah," I said, scrubbin' a hand over my face. "And uninvited."
The little menace stretched, claws snagging the blanket at my waist before Calvin freed it.
"Easy," she crooned.
I blinked at her. "Did you just baby talk that cat?"
"Shut up."
"Unbelievable."
The thing went boneless in her hands, eyes droopin' like it had just found religion.
"Traitor," I muttered to her.
She glanced at me over the kitten's head. "You left the door open."
I pointed at her. "That is not the same as invitin' it to squat."
"Pretty sure that's exactly what it means."
I pushed up onto my elbows, the house creakin' around us as the morning warmed it. Sunlight sliced through the boards on the windows, hittin' her bare skin and makin' it glow in a way that did real stupid things to my brain.
"You really bought this for her?" she asked.
"The house? Yeah."
"And you were gonna surprise her?"
"Yeah."
She studied me for a second too long. "You always go big when you don't know what else to do?"
I snorted. "If by 'go big' you mean 'panic and make questionable financial decisions,' then yeah."
Her mouth twitched.
The kitten wriggled free and plopped to the floor, immediately trippin' over its own damn paws.
